Editing Mars Hill, Maine (section)

==History==

[[File:General View of Mars Hill, ME.jpg|thumb|left|Town view {{circa|1915}}]]

===Timeline of events===

The town of Mars Hill is named for Hezekiah Mars, who camped for three years at the base of [[Mars Hill Mountain]]. In 1834, the first industry was cutting [[timber]], particularly [[Eastern White Pine|trees]] for [[mast (sailing)|mast]]s. Farming later became important.<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Varney
  | first = George J.
  | title = Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Mars Hill
  | place = Boston
  | publisher = Russell
  | year = 1886
  | url = http://history.rays-place.com/me/aroostook-4b.htm
  | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130104152813/http://history.rays-place.com/me/aroostook-4b.htm
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = January 4, 2013
  | access-date = February 5, 2009
  }}</ref> Following the end of the [[Aroostook War]] in 1839, a boundary line between [[Maine]] and [[New Brunswick]] was cleared and iron markers were put in place three years later. The first mill opened at Rocky Brook in 1856. In 1860, the first school was established for the community of Mars Hill. Further development of the community was delayed until after the [[American Civil War]]. The [[Bangor and Aroostook Railroad]] arrived in 1892, allowing shipment of local produce to distant markets.

In 1906, the White Mountain Telephone Company, later known as the Aroostook Telephone & Telegraph Company, opened a new office in Mars Hill. A six-bed community hospital was established in 1912. In 1922, an intense fire devastated the business district in town. Businesses were promptly rebuilt. In 1937, the Walter T.A. Hansen Memorial Library opened.<ref name="marshill">{{cite web|title=History of Mars Hill|url=http://www.marshillmaine.com/index.php/town-information/history-of-mars-hill|work=Mars Hill Town Office|access-date=May 7, 2014|author=Mars Hill Town Office|location=Mars Hill, Maine|year=2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713032801/http://www.marshillmaine.com/index.php/town-information/history-of-mars-hill|archive-date=July 13, 2014}}</ref> In the 1960s, [[Big Rock (ski resort)|Big Rock Ski Area]] was founded on Mars Hill Mountain.

In 2006, Maine's first wind farm was installed along the top and northern side of Mars Hill Mountain.<ref>[http://www.marshillwind.com/mars_hill/ Mars Hill Wind Farm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512015012/http://www.marshillwind.com/mars_hill/ |date=May 12, 2011 }}</ref>

===Military presence===

During and after [[World War II]], Mars Hill and the economies of surrounding towns were dominated by military spending. In 1947, the Limestone Army Air Field was built in [[Limestone, Maine|Limestone]]. It opened in 1953 and was renamed the [[Loring Air Force Base]]. Aroostook County was chosen due to its strategic location as the closest point in the continental United States to Europe. The [[1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission]] recommended the closure of the Loring Air Force Base, and it closed in 1994.<ref name=HAERLoring>{{cite web|title=Loring Air Force Base |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/me/me0300/me0307/data/me0307data.pdf |work=[[Historic American Buildings Survey]] |publisher=[[Historic American Engineering Record]] |access-date=May 11, 2013 |author=Earth Tech, Inc. |author-link=Earth Tech, Inc. |location=[[Limestone, Maine]] |year=1994 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609152542/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/me/me0300/me0307/data/me0307data.pdf |archive-date=June 9, 2013 }}</ref>

===Big Rock Ski Area===
{{Main|Big Rock (ski resort)}}
During the late 1950s, two hundred acres were purchased to develop a local recreation area, and by 1960 the Big Rock Ski Area was opened. Big Rock Ski Center was purchased in 2000 by the Maine Winter Sports Center (MWSC), through grants by the Libra Foundation.<ref name="bigrock">{{cite web|title=Big Mountain Overview|url=http://www.bigrockmaine.com/the-mountain.html|work=Big Rock Mountain Ski Resort|access-date=May 7, 2014|author=Mars Hill Town Office|location=Mars Hill, Maine|year=2014|archive-date=May 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140501043529/http://www.bigrockmaine.com/the-mountain.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Wind power development===

On March 27, 2007, a wind farm project was commissioned to be constructed on Mars Hill Mountain by [[First Wind]], a Massachusetts-based renewable energy company. The Mars Hill Wind Farm was projected to have cost $85 million. A total of 28&nbsp;[[General Electric]] 1.5&nbsp;[[megawatt]] turbines were installed along the ridge and in the northern section of the mountain. The wind 
farm generates about 130&nbsp;million [[kilowatt hour]]s (kW·h) per year (15&nbsp;MW·yr/yr),<ref>{{cite web
 | url= http://www.mainewind.org/ 
 | title= Mars Hill Wind Farm 
 | access-date= January 29, 2009 }}</ref> with a [[capacity factor]] of 35%. Mars Hill Wind Farm was the first utility-scale facility in Maine, with projected capacity to produce enough electricity to power 20,000 homes. Mars Hill Wind Farm exports electricity to [[NB Power|New Brunswick Power]] and has become an important component in the local economy.<ref name=firstwindl>{{cite web|title=Welcome to Mars Hill|url=http://www.firstwind.com/projects/mars-hill|work=First Wind Company|access-date=May 7, 2014|author=Captains of Industry, Inc.|location=Mars Hill, Maine|year=2013|archive-date=December 31, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231005303/http://www.firstwind.com/projects/mars-hill|url-status=dead}}</ref>